


Things that are known

by wriftys



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, M/M, Pre-Time Skip, felix and annette have a feelings jam about their crushes, gotta love that sweet sweet teenage angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 06:11:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21239456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wriftys/pseuds/wriftys
Summary: During a study session with Annette, Felix realises that he and Annette have something in common.





	Things that are known

**Author's Note:**

> Felix is so nice to Annette its so hecking cute. I love their dynamic, and I was struck with inspiration that they could be the mlm wlw friends that bond over their respective pining for their crushes. This is also my first fic, so I hope you enjoy!

“You see, this rune here belongs to the anima family. Specifically, it’s the basic rune for Thunder, so all thunder-based sigils are going to incorporate this rune in its design.”

Felix looked up at Annette, his head currently being held up by his arm that was propped against the table. “Right, simple enough. So, what’s stopping me from just combining all the most powerful runes into one summoning sigil for a huge attack?”

Annette, chipper as ever, let out a little laugh before replying.

“Well, you _could_ do that. But it would be a massive drain on your magical energy, and really inefficient to boot! People have been refining this magic for generations, so the sigils taught here are the result of hundreds of magical scholars over the ages all studying how these runes interact for the best possible output with the least energy input. It’s kinda amazing, isn’t it!”

Felix let out a non-committal hum in response.

“I get it. Thank you for explaining so succinctly, Annette.”

The professor had recently been pushing Felix to work on his ‘innate magical skills’, so he had asked Annette to teach some of the more esoteric aspects of black magic just before class. The two of them were currently sat on opposite sides of one of the desks in the Blue Lions classroom. Spread out on the table in front of them were various scrolls, with the tell-tale dark frantic scrawlings that identified Annette’s handwriting. Felix idly traced the edge of one such drawing.

“Say, I know that you primarily focus in unarmed magic, but what do you know of magical weaponry? Professor Byleth has ordered in some Levin swords from the blacksmith’s, but I would like know a bit more about them before attempting to use them in combat.” Electricity and metal didn’t exactly go well together normally, and Felix would really prefer to have his sword hand _not_ fried off before the month’s mission came to pass.

When Annette _didn’t_ reply immediately and enthusiastically, as she usually did when talking about magic, Felix looked up from the summoning circles he had been examining.

Annette had got distracted again, that much wasn’t surprising, her attention could be grabbed by a dust mite floating in front of her. It was her expression that really caught Felix’s eye. Her gaze was bright and wide, captivated with whatever she was staring at over Felix’s shoulder. There was a suggestion of a smile on her face, but it was so small that it was easily missed. If you looked real close, you would be able to make out a faint blush dusting her cheeks. He’d seen that look before.

_Well, this is a surprise. I suppose I could tease her about this, but that feels a bit mean-spirited, and I really don’t need her thinking I’m out to get her again. _

Felix turned to look behind him in the most nonchalant manner he could bother with. All he could see from this angle was Ingrid talking to someone out of view, her hands clasped in front of her.

Wait, Ingrid?

Felix looked back at Annette to confirm his suspicions. She let out a sigh, filled with only what he could describe as desperate longing. _Oh dear. I better shut this down as fast as possible, so she doesn’t get her heart broken by Ingrid. She still isn’t over Glenn, after all. Well, none of us are, really, but that’s beside the point. _

“You know that Ingrid isn’t interested in other women, right?” Felix said, as bluntly as he could.

Annette, startled out of her reverie, instantly turned a bright shade of red.

“Wh- I- Felix, what are you even talking about! Why would you even imply such a- a preposterous thing!” Annette fumbled over her words, her hands clenched into fists on the table surface. The blush had reached her ears.

Felix raised an eyebrow.

“AGH! Alright fine! You’ve got me!” Annette said despairingly, almost collapsing onto the table they were sharing. “So I might have a _teensy tiny _crush on Ingrid…” Her face was turned into the desk, so that her reply was muffled by the hard wood. Her cheek was squished up in a way that reminded him of the squirrels he would see in the forests near Fhirdiad. It was kind of endearing, in a strange way. He bit back a smile at the thought, but his voice was light as he replied.

“Well yes, that we have established. Anyway, can we get on with your little lecture?” If he _really_ wanted to deal with romantic drama, he would just talk to Sylvain after a bad breakup.

Annette looked up with a frantic expression from where she had apparently been trying to fuse her face with the woodgrain of the table. “You CANNOT tell anyone about this! If Ingrid knew, I wouldn’t be able to face her ever again!” She sat up and grabbed fistfuls of her hair in her hands. “Oh Goddess, I’m going to have to leave the academy! Sorry everyone, I’ve publicly disgraced myself one too many times and now must live as a hermit-”

“If you keep yelling like that you might as well start packing up right now.” Felix muttered to himself while glancing back outside. Incredibly, Annette’s outburst hadn’t attracted the attention of anyone. Felix let out a put-upon sigh and mulled over the ways to approach the situation currently at hand. “Look, Annette, I don’t know why you are so convinced I am about to expose all of your _most terrible secrets_” he says, “But if it makes you feel better, I _promise_ I won’t tell anyone else about this.” _What would I even get out of doing that?_

Annette looks at him with eyebrows knitted, and a pout on her lips. “Nuh-uh Felix, I don’t trust so easily!” She moves into the space between them, as if that would somehow make their conversation less noticeable to anyone walking by. “You’ve got to tell me something embarrassing about yourself now, you have too much dirt on me for it to be fair!”

“What? I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous in my life, how does that make any sense at all?” he retorts, leaning back from where Annette was now taking up more than half of the table.

“If I die of embarrassment tomorrow, it’s my ghost that will be haunting you for the rest of your life Felix. You don’t want that, I make a super annoying ghost!”

Felix feels his shoulders raise in a display of incredulity. “I don’t even understand why it’s such a big deal! Who cares about who you want to court!”

“Well why don’t you tell me who you like then if you are so carefree!” Annette has now stood up out of her chair, and has her hands folded imperiously, looking down at Felix. His eyes go wide in surprise at the unexpected question thrown at him like an accusation.

“I- I don’t like anyone! What are you, a child?” he replies far too quickly, eyes darting away in all sorts of locations. Of course, this was an utter lie. Felix had been pining over Sylvain for years now, after realising how much gravity with which he considered their childhood promise. Having a front-row seat to all of Sylvain’s farcical relationships with women didn’t exactly help either. But he had rationalised that, with them both being nobles and the pressure on Sylvain to carry on the family crest, that such a thing could never come to pass between the two of them. Getting a reminder of his ill-thought infatuation never failed to get on his nerves like nothing else, though. Ideally, Annette would drop this topic soon.

However, it seems that nothing could escape Annette’s keen eye, as she immediately hones in on his moment of weakness.

“So you _do_ like someone!”

“I absolutely do not!”

“If you would just tell me who, we would be even. Don’t make me start listing people out! We have the whole day ahead of us, you know.”

“As if I would have feelings for any of the fools that attend this academy! I have far more important things to give my attention to.”

“Felix, my magical senses are telling me you are lying. Are you lying to dear old Annette?”

This was getting annoying. Felix angrily looks at Annette in the eye, a disdainful sneer marring his expression. “_Magical senses? _I really doubt that your sorcery skills extend to such a feat, else you wouldn’t have needed Mercedes to bail you out of that nasty fight last week. Maybe if you spent more time being aware of what’s going on around you, you wouldn’t be such a burden.”

He sees the flash of hurt in Annette’s eyes, and can’t find it in him to care about it that much. Annette stands there, lips pursed indignantly and eyes full of emotion.

The sound of someone clearing their throat behind them snaps the tension between them like a taut bowstring, and they both startle. They turn to look at the source of the sound. The professor stood there, arms folded, their dark eyes boring into both of them. The cloak that darkened their silhouette did not help soften the imposing figure standing at the entrance of the classroom.

“…Felix. I would appreciate it if you treated Annette with a bit more respect,” her blue eyes slowly took in the scene of the books and scrolls on the table, “especially since she seems to be helping you at the present moment.”

Their voice was as cold as the stones of the archway they stood in. Without waiting for a reply from Felix, they turned their attention to Annette. She stammered out a “Professor” in reply to that intense focus. And with that, they turned swiftly, and walked into the courtyard, footsteps echoing in the silence they had wrought with their presence.

Felix and Annette glanced at each other, both feeling chastened despite the relative straightforward nature of the professor’s words. That defensive energy that fuelled both their tempers had been drained by the interruption, and Annette fell backwards into her seat with a shaky sigh, the chair scraping against the stone floor. Felix crossed his arms and hunched over, curling into himself.

The two sat in silence for what seemed like an age.

Finally, Felix let out an exasperated grumble.

“I’m sorry. For what I said.” He waits a few beats. “I don’t think you are a burden, for the record. I was just… pissed off.”

Annette doesn’t reply, except to let out a small, non-committal hum. The reminder of how easily they had been talking earlier made Felix’s gut twist. Annette had touched upon a sore topic, yes, but he had lashed out in a way that was unfair to her. He had to make amends, else he might lose the one person at the academy he can talk to without immediately wanting to put up his walls. He shifted, propping his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together. He _hated_ talking about this stuff.

“You shouldn’t care about if anyone knows. About Ingrid, I mean. It doesn’t matter anyway. Ingrid… She… She wouldn’t be looking for anyone, regardless of who they are. Not right now.”

A childhood memory makes itself known as he thought of Ingrid’s unwavering loyalty to her familial duty. Stories of romance told just before bed; knights declaring their everlasting love for their liege. Partners promising to spend their lives together, or else to die in each others arms. He thought about Glenn. Biting back a frustrated sigh, he continued.

“Anyway, it’s not about gender. Most nobles are fated to loveless relationships set up by their houses to pass on their crests.” Sylvain’s whole fabricated personality was a walking reminder of his family’s burden, and having to witness it every day made Felix’s blood boil and heart break with equal measure.

He looks up at Annette. “We don’t get to ride off into the sunset with along with our favoured knight. We don’t get to have a happy ending. I would’ve thought you would at least know that by now.”

Annette looks sadly to the side. She gives a simple resigned shrug in response.

“I guess… I did know that. Doesn’t exactly help me from falling for them though,” she lets out a self-deprecating laugh, and continues on. “I guess I’m just a fool that way.”

Felix lets a rare wry smile show on his face. “That makes the two of us, then.”

Annette’s eyes widen at the sight, and then her face breaks out into a brilliant laugh. The tears that had threatened to fall now gently slid down her cheeks.

“Why Felix, I didn’t know you could smile! It doesn’t look half bad!” she teases, the weight of their previous conversation dissipating into the air. Felix’s expression immediately twists down back into his usual glower.

“You’ll never see it again, if you’re going to point it out with such glee,” he grumbles.

“Nope! Too late! It’s permanently etched into my memory now.” She giggles. _I guess this is what I get for trying to be nice, _Felix thinks to himself morosely. Stuck in his thoughts again, he doesn’t notice when Annette had got out of her seat and moved around to his side of the table. He turns his head to ask what she was doing when she pulls him into a tight hug, her face still bright with humour, tear tracks shining on her cheeks. His hands hang frozen in the air, and she moves away before he can process the situation. Annette rocks back onto her heels and looks at him earnestly.

“Thanks Felix. I think I got what you were trying to say. Weirdly, it made me feel a lot better. If you ever want to talk about this stuff with someone else, well, I’ll always be around!”

Felix merely turns his head to the side, and mumbles out a “…Okay” in response, thrown off-kilter. He felt his face warm. _Goddess, I really am bad with these things. _

It was about the time that class for the day resumed. Annette quickly rubbed at her face before any of their other classmates saw her red eyes. The soft voice that registers in Felix’s mind as Mercedes calls Annette over, so she gives him a little wave goodbye and walks over to her usual seat. Felix almost allows himself to relax, before he feels a weight slung around his shoulders. _Of course. _

“Sylvain, if you don’t remove your arm right now-”

“Felix! My trusted companion, why must you act so sharply towards me?” The signature smile-and-wink combination is in full force today, and Felix is as usual, absolutely immune to its charms. Absolutely.

“What do you want.” Sylvain never uses that trick on him unless he’s trying to get something.

Sylvain pulls a chair over, and places himself right next to Felix’s side. He can feel that built upper chest leant against his, and the weight of that arm is a heavy reminder of all axe training that Sylvain’s been doing recently. _Damn it all. _

“So, I saw the tail-end of that little embrace with Annette. Felix, you lucky bastard, what have you been hiding from me?” Sylvain murmurs, his voice kept low and his face far too close to Felix’s face to be comfortable.

“It’s none of your business, _Sylvain” _he hisses out. “I would respectfully request you not read into every action I have with a member of another sex, but I know that that’s an impossible feat for you.” He shrugs, as to violently shove off the arm that was _still _making its presence known.

“You wound me, Felix!” Sylvain exclaims dramatically, throwing the affronted arm to his chest and staggering. Felix looks on, unamused. After getting a pointed look from Ingrid, who had by now also taken her seat, Sylvain lets out a laugh and starts walking away to take his place as well. “Don’t think you are gonna hear the end of this, Felix. Tonight, you and I are going to have a talk!”

Felix winced internally at the idea of it. Sylvain interrogating him on his non-existent affections for Annette as a late-night date sounds like the Goddess’s idea of a funny joke. He put his chin in his palm, and silently cursed his wretched luck. He only wished he could just tell Sylvain the truth already.

_There’s only space for one passionate redhead in my heart. And you’ve already promised your life to me._

**Author's Note:**

> days later felix bursts into annette's room yelling "ANNETTE I THINK SYLVAIN IS FLIRTING WITH ME WHAT THE FUCK"  
and they immediately go to have a gossip tea party where felix loses his mind. 
> 
> Come talk to me about fire emblem [ at my tumblr](https://wriftyssss.tumblr.com/) please I am just screaming into the void about the Blue Lions


End file.
